


tears like fallen stars

by icemakestars



Series: •Tumblr Prompts• [23]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Meet the Family, Men Crying, Tumblr: FTLGBTales, only sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-19 02:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17592917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: Gray wants to introduce Natsu to his parents, so they visit their graves. It's unconventional, but it's all they have.





	tears like fallen stars

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in like 2015 but it's my most liked and reblogged piece of fiction so I figured I might as well upload it here. I have tweaked it slightly to fit in a little more with my style now but that's it.

When they arrived, it was raining. Natsu wasn’t sure why that mattered to him, maybe it was the stormy blue of Gray’s eyes which leaked it’s own kind of wetness, or maybe it was how the rain felt as though the sky was crying, too; as if it also felt a crippling kind of remorse when it stared at the three graves which were barely sheltered by a canopy of ice Gray had created for them all.

Natsu stood slightly behind Gray as he read the names, eyes lidded with his own sadness.

_Mika Fullbuster. Silver Fullbuster. Ur Milkovich._

When Natsu looked at Gray’s naked back, he saw the shake of the lean shoulders and the head hung in grief, and felt rather than saw Gray’s hidden tears. He took one step forward, hand outstretched and mouth open. Natsu’s throat closed at the last moment, and instead of speech he gulped loudly.

“This is Natsu.” Gray’s voice was steady with forced cheerfulness as he directed the words towards his parents. Gray turned to smile at Natsu, who closed the gap between them and took his place at Gray’s side. Natsu let his fingers idly rest on the edge of Gray’s arm, but didn’t initiate any further contact. He had to show some self control; he was meeting his boyfriend’s parents, after all.

“You met him once before, dad, do you remember? I think you tried to kill him, actually…” Gray grinned at that, glancing down at Natsu’s hand long enough to entwine their fingers together, and then focused his attention back on the graves.

“That’s okay though, I’ve tried it a few times myself.” Both boys laughed crisply, squeezing their fingers in a silent display of affection.

“I know that Mother and Ur never did meet him, so I wanted to introduce you all. I can’t say that I’m looking for your consent or blessing or whatever, because frankly that wouldn’t matter to me now. The truth is, I love him. He’s my boyfriend, my partner, and I’m in love with him.” Gray’s breath was shaking by the end of his small speech, and he had to close his mouth before he was further overwhelmed. Natsu watched Gray’s emotions as they darkened his features, and took one step forward, his grip on Gray’s hand tightening.

“I’m Natsu! It’s great to meet you all! Gray is being an idiot- as usual- so I just wanted to say this: I _am_ looking for your blessing. Gray is important to all o usf here, and I wouldn’t want to take him from any of you without your permission- I mean-” Natsu growled in frustration as he failed to communicate his feelings appropriately. He looked at Silver’s name, whose grave was in the middle, and spoke his words clearly.

“I love Gray. He’s my mate, and as a dragon slayer I don’t say that lightly. I’m serious about him, and about us, so I hope you can be as happy for us as he makes me… Although I do want to punch him in he face sometimes.” He added at the end, a smile stretching his innocently aloof features into something more handsome.

Gray was crying silently behind Natsu, body shuddering under the weight of emotions he fought so hard to suppress. When Natsu came to stand next to him again. Gray gave Natsu a quick kiss on the cheek. The rain stopped pouring and both boys turned in shock.

The sun shone through the clouds which still filled up the sky, but that single ray fell directly on Mika’s name. Gray sobbed louder, arm hooking around Natsu’s so that he could press his body into Natsu’s back. They stood there for a moment, bodies drawing closer in search for comfort, and Natsu provided it as best he could.

“Thank you, mama.” He choked out, grief tucked into the creases of his smile when he realised how much he still missed his mother.

The childish language shocked Natsu, and he found tears burning a doleful kind of fire in his eyes. In that moment, Natsu understood that being lonely did not necessarily mean you had to be alone. He wished that he could bring Gray's family back, could be teased by Ur and Silver and get to know Mika, but instead Natsu knew that he would have to love Gray enough for all of them, be there where they could not. It would be an honour, and he undertook it gladly.

Hands still joined together, Gray and Natsu turned and walked away from the graves, the ice shelter Gray had created shattered behind them, scattering like frozen tears in the wind.

The sun still shone for hours after they left, and the smiles which Gray and Natsu had lingered twice as long.

 


End file.
